Akash Sudan

Half-centuries by Jalaj Saxena (68) and Vinoop Sheela Manoharan (77) helped Kerala recover from 155 for six to 291 for seven at stumps against Delhi on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'B' match.

Delhi handed out firstclass caps to Kunal Chandela and Akash Sudan in their final Group A Ranji Trophy fixture against Hyderabad. The former did not disappoint and even upstaged his more famed opening partner Gautam Gambhir at theRajiv GandhiInternational Stadium on Saturday.

Delhi will miss the services of its regular skipper Ishant Sharma in the upcoming Ranji Trophy semi-final against Bengal in Pune, starting December 17.

"I would like to increase the pace and will work as per the instructions of the trainer. Normally, we start training three months before the season, but this time we have started a month before. The program is like one day gym and one day endurance. I know I have to improve a lot in fitness," Rajneesh Gurbani said.

It was a tricky surface to bat on and the hosts lost four wickets before lunch,but as has been the characteristic of this Kerala side, they fought back brilliantly through half-centuries from three of their batsmen.

It seems pacers bred on domestic pitches are more comfortable with the seminew or old SG Test ball, instead of the new one. Rajneesh Gurbani is a case in point.

Salman Nizar, the 28-year-old cricketer, blazed through a Kerala Cricket League game, smashing 11 sixes off 14 balls. He plundered 40 runs in the final over, setting a new record and propelling Calicut Globstars to victory. His explosive innings of 86 not out from 26 deliveries secured a 13-run win and the second spot in the KCL season.

Veterans Yuvraj, Harbhajan and Nehra in spotlight as India play first game; Tait, Watson in for Australia.

"Lage reh, lage reh (Just keep at it)!" The words from the Vidarbha dressing echoed around the empty MPCA Holkar stadium when overnight batsman Akshay Wakhare took guard in the second over of the day.

Vidarbha on Sunday inched closer to a maiden Ranji Trophy title by grabbing a commanding 233-run lead against a Delhi side that looked defeated for better part of the day, as little-known Akshay Wadkar chose first-class cricket's biggest stage to compile his maiden century.

Kerala thrashed Delhi by an innings and 27 runs in a Ranji Trophy Group 'B' match on Sunday to earn seven points and lift their tally to 20, as the race for knockout berths got exciting.

Wasim Jaffer brought into play his years of experience as he guided Vidarbha to 206 for four with an unbeaten half-century after seamer Rajneesh Gurbani scythed through Delhi's lower-order for a rare hat-trick in a Ranji Trophy final on Saturday.

A win away from their maiden title, Vidarbha embodied the allure often associated with underdogs as they braced up to face a battle-hardened Delhi that has for years braved a system that is anything but robust, in the final of Ranji Trophy.